Tag: Pedro Ciriaco

Celebrate the win!











Indianapolis Indians 7,  Norfolk Tides  6
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The Indianapolis Indians pulled out another come-from-behind win over the Norfolk Tides this afternoon at Victory Field, and once again the Max Schumacher Victory Bell rang out at the end of the game.  Justin Thomas earned his first win for the Indians, and Tim Wood earned his third save, while 1B Matt Hague (photo) went 3-for-4 at the plate.  Three Indians hit solo home runs:  Hague, LF Alex Presley, and C Dusty Brown.  

The game did not start out well for the Indians.  Lead-off batter 3B Josh Harrison opened the bottom of the 1st with a line drive single into left-center field, but as he took a few steps out of the batters' box, he began to limp.  He limped his way down to first base (ordinarily, he might have made it to second on this hit), then called for time out.  After a brief discussion with trainer Bryan Housand and manager Dean Treanor, Harrison came out of the game.  Chase d'Arnaud came in as a pinch runner, then stayed in the game to play second base, while Brian Friday moved from second over to third base.  There was no further word by the end of the game about Harrison's condition.

Unfortunately, before anything else could happen, d'Arnaud was picked off first base and caught stealing.  The reason that it was so unfortunate for the Indians was that one out later, Presley rocketed a home run over the right field wall for his third home run of the season.  It was a solo homer, but it could have been a 2-run homer.  Hague slapped a sharp grounder up the middle after the home run, but he was left on base.  

Jason Jaramillo is greeted by the teammates he drove in with his grand slam











Indianapolis Indians  8,  Norfolk Tides  5
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A grand slam by C Jason Jaramillo gave the Indians the spark they needed to turn the game around tonight at Victory Field, as the Indians came from behind to beat the Norfolk Tides. 

The game began on a good note for the Tribe.  For the first time in a home game this season, the Indians scored first.  They missed out on an opportunity in the 2nd inning, when 3B Josh Harrison lined a single into left field and Jaramillo lined a single into left-center, moving Harrison to third.  A pop up ended the inning, leaving the runners on the corners.  CF Gorkys Hernandez led off the 3rd inning with a grounder through the right side of the infield and into right field.  DH Corey Wimberly dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Hernandez to second base, and 2B Chase d'Arnaud's long fly out to right allowed Hernandez to advance to third base.  LF Alex Presley singled up the middle, just past the diving SS Nick Green (a former Indy Indian in 2007), and that drove in Hernandez to give the Indians a 1-0 lead.  

Tribe starter Justin Wilson (photo) did his part by starting the game with three hitless innings.  He allowed just one walk over the first three innings.  But then things turned over the next two innings, as two Tribe errors resulted in 5 runs for the Tides.  Wilson began the 4th with a line out, but the next two batters reached base.   A four-pitch walk put Tides' 1B Brandon Snyder on base.  Then 3B John Bell bounced just over the reach of Wilson's glove, and toward the second base bag.  SS Pedro Ciriaco and 2B Chase d'Arnaud both charged toward the ball.  Ciriaco got to it, and tried to take an extra step to reach second base for the force out  -- but he was rushing, and he did not have a good hold on the ball.  The ball fell to the ground, and both runners were safe (photos below).  A pop out gave Wilson the second out of the inning, but kept the runners in place.  Then Green lined a double into left field, over the head of Presley, and off the wall.  That drove in both the runners, giving Norfolk a 2-1 lead.  2B Brendan Harris ran the count full, fouled off a couple more pitches, then took ball four, which brought pitching coach Tom Filer out to chat with Wilson and Jaramillo.  The talking didn't help much, as C Craig Tatum blooped an RBI single into the no-man's-land in short right field, bringing in Green to score.  RF Tyler Henson added another run with a sinking liner into left field.  Wilson struck out CF Matt Angle to end the inning, but 4 unearned runs had scored, and the Tides had a 4-1 lead. 

Photos:  On the left, the ball has just slipped out of Ciriaco's glove -- you can see it in front of d'Arnaud's left knee, below his glove.  On the right, the ball is on the ground, with the runner Snyder beginning his slide into second.

  

The Indianapolis Indians played a double header tonight against the Columbus Clippers in Columbus, to make up for Saturday's rain out -- and the Indians lost both games.

Columbus Clippers  6,  Indianapolis Indians  1    (Game 1)
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The first game, which began at 5 pm, saw the Indians jump out to a good start.  With two outs in the top of the 1st, LF Alex Presley lifted a home run over the right-center field wall to give the Indians a 1-0 lead.  1B Matt Hague tried to keep the inning going with a single lined into left field following the homer, but he was left on base.   

Tribe starter Sean Gallagher (photo) could not hold on to that lead.  With one out in the bottom of the 1st,  Gallagher walked DH Cord Phelps and 3B Lonnie Chisenhall back-to-back, then loaded the bases with a single to LF Chad Huffman.  Another single, by 1B Travis Buck, drove in both Phelps and Chisenhall, then a slip by Presley in left field let Huffman move up to third base.  Gallagher caught a break when C Jason Jaramillo threw out Buck as he tried to steal second base, then Gallagher ended the inning with a strikeout.

Columbus increased the lead to 4-1 with two more runs in the 2nd inning.  RF Jordan Brown led off with a double, and former Indy Indian C Luke Carlin walked.  Jaramillo tried to pick Brown off second base, but the throw bounced off SS Pedro Ciriaco's glove and into left-center field, putting Brown on third and Carlin on second.  SS Luis Valbuena ripped a double into the left-center field gap, driving in both Brown and Carlin, and the Clippers were ahead by 3 runs.  They added another run in the 3rd inning, on a walk and a stolen base by 2B Jason Kipnis, then a double into right field by Brown.  

Gallagher came out to begin the 4th inning, but after a walk and two strikeouts, Gallagher had thrown 98 pitches (54 strikes), and he was relieved by Tony Watson.   Watson finished the 4th with a fly out, but he gave up a solo homer to Huffman, the first batter in the 5th inning.  He also gave up a walk and a single in the 6th, but kept the Clippers from scoring in that inning.

The Indianapolis Indians and the Columbus Clippers were rained out in Columbus tonight.  They will try for two on Monday, beginning at 5 pm.  Sunday's game is scheduled for 4 pm.
Infielder Pedro Ciriaco was optioned back to the Indians, after just a brief visit to Pittsburgh.  The Pirates' new shortstop Brandon Wood got himself to Pittsburgh very quickly, so no need for Ciriaco to fill in.  Jose Ascanio, who was hit in the head by a line drive on Thursday, has been diagnosed as having "just" a contusion (a bruise).  He's doing better today.


Kannapolis Intimidators  8,  West Virginia Power  7   (Game 1) 
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 The Pirates were able to fight back after Kannapolis scored 6 runs in the 2nd inning, but 2 runs in the bottom of the 7th gave Kannapolis the win.  The Power had  the early lead with one run in the 1st and 2 more in the 2nd. CF Mel Rojas walked, and 1B Matt Curry singled.  LF Rogelios Noris' fly out moved Rojas to third, and then Rojas scored on RF Justin Howard's single through the hole into left field.  C Kawika Emsley-Pai walked to load the bases, but a ground out ended the inning without any more runs scoring.  With one out in the top of the 2nd, back-to-back doubles by DH Jairo Marquez and SS Drew Maggi brought in one run, then a wild pitch and a fielding error allowed Maggi to score, giving the Power a 3-0 lead.

Starter Colton Cain had retired the Intimidators in order in the 1st, but got in trouble in the bottom of the 2nd, when the first 6 batters who came to the plate reached base safely.  A single, a double, and a walk loaded the bases, then a hit batter forced in the first run.  A double plated two more, and a single added another two.  Another double made it 6 runs in the inning, and the Power were behind 6-3.  

The Power battled right back in the top of the 3rd.  Walks to Howard and 3B Andy Vasquez both walked, and Emsley-Pai was hit by a pitch to load the bases again for the Power.  An RBI ground out drove in Howard, then Marquez's single scored both Vasquez and Emsley-Pai to tie the score at 6-6.  The Power took the lead in the 4th on Curry's lead-off home run.  

Trent Stevenson relieved Cain to begin the 3rd inning, and he pitched 3 scoreless innings.  He allowed 3 hits and struck out one.  The Power bats suddenly went quiet after the 4th, with no more hits until the 7th, when Howard tripled.  Emsley-Pai and Marquez both walked, but two ground outs and a strikeout left all three on base.  Jason Townsend pitched the 6th inning for the Power, allowing just one hit.  Casey Sadler came on to pitch the 7th, and with one out, Sadler gave up three consecutive singles.  The third hit went to Howard in right field, and Howard's throw back to the plate was right to Emsley-Pai, who tagged out the lead runner at the plate.  But the next batter doubled to tie the score again, and the fourth single of the inning drove in the winning walk-off run.  

Toledo Mud Hens  7,  Indianapolis Indians 1
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The Indianpolis Indians struggled in the cold and the fog tonight at Fifth Third Field in Toledo, Ohio, as they lost to the Mud Hens, earning a split of the 4-game series.  Starter Rudy Owens (photo) suffered his first loss of the season, after having won his first two starts.  

The Mud Hens attacked Owens as soon as they came to the plate in the bottom of the 1st.  CF Andy Dirks led off with a grounder to first.  Tribe 1B Matt Hague made a diving stop, but he had to wait for Owens to move to first, and by the time Owens got there, Dirks was safe.  After a strikeout, LF Timo Perez and 1B Ryan Striekby both singled, and Dirks came in to score.  A sacrifice fly by RF Clete Thomas brought in Perez, and the Mud Hens had a 2-0 lead.  

Owens put the Mud Hens down in order in the 2nd, and that was the only inning in which he did that.  Toledo picked up another run in the 3rd, when Perez singled to the right side of the mound, just out of reach of Owens.  Strieby doubled over RF Andrew Lambo's head and off the wall, and by the time Lambo was able to chase down the ricochet, Perez had scored easily.  The bottom of the 4th began with a triple by DH Danny Worth.  That ball also hit the wall over CF Alex Presley's head, and the throw came back in to the infield, but was cut off by 2B Brian Friday, as Worth slid into third.  Owens threw a wild pitch, and Worth scored easily.  Owens gave up a double to Perez (his third hit of the game) in the 5th, and walked Strieby, but kept them from scoring.  Owens finished up with 5 innings of work, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks, with 7 strikeouts.  He threw 87 pitches, of which 59 were strikes.

Toledo Mud Hens  6,  Indianapolis Indians  0   (Game 1)
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The Indianapolis Indians began this double header on a down note, as they were held to just one hit at Fifth Third Field in Toledo, Ohio.  

Mud Hens' starter Charlie Furbush dominated the Indians' batters through all 7 innings of this game.  He struck out 9 Tribe batters and did not walk any.  The only hit he allowed was by C Jason Jaramillo to lead off the top of the 3rd inning.  Jaramillo did not even reach second base -- he was forced out on a grounder by LF Corey Wimberly.  Wimberly was the only other Indian to reach base, when he was safe at first on a fielding error by 3B Danny Worth in the 6th.  

The Mud Hens got to Tribe starter Brad Lincoln early in the game.  In the bottom of the 1st, lead-off batter CF Andy Dirks began the inning with a double down the left field line.  2B Scott Sizemore was hit by a pitch, and LF Timo Perez moved both along one base with a sacrifice bunt.  DH Scott Thorman brought in Dirks with an RBI single, and 1B Ryan Strieby drove in both Sizemore and Thorman with an RBI double into center field.  

Lincoln retired the side in order in the 2nd inning, but the Mud Hens came back at him in the 3rd.  The inning began with back-to-back singles by Sizemore and Perez.  Lincoln struck out the next two batters, but both base runners stole the next base on the second strikeout.  RF Clete Thomas drove both in with a single up the middle.  Lincoln and the Indians had a bit of better luck, when Jaramillo threw out Thomas as he tried to steal second base, ending the inning.  Toledo picked up one more run in the 4th, with singles by 3B Danny Worth and C Max St. Pierre, then a sacrifice fly by Dirks.  

Lincoln also retired the side in the 5th, and that was all for him for the night.  He had allowed the 6 runs on 8 hits, no walks, and 5 strikeouts.  He threw 86 pitches, with 60 strikes.  Cesar Valdez relieved Lincoln to begin the 6th inning.   He gave up a single to former Indy Indian SS Argenis Diaz in the 6th, but left him on base.  


Indians Hitting Gem of the Game: Well, there was only one hit to choose from -- Jason Jaramillo's (photo) single in the third inning.  

Indians' Defensive Gem of the Game:  In the bottom of the 5th, Corey Wimberly made a diving catch of a line drive in left-center field, off the bat of Scott Thorman.  Both Wimberly and Alex Presley, who was in center field tonight, raced for the ball, but Wimberly cut in front of Presley and made the catch.  

Indianapolis Indians  4,  Toledo Mud Hens  2
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The Indianapolis Indians battled the blustery weather as well as the Toldeo Mud Hens in a late-morning school day start in Toledo today.  They earned the win, giving them a 3-1 record on the road so far this season.  

Justin Wilson (photo) pitched 6 scoreless innings in his third start of the season, to earn his first AAA win.  He gave up 2 hits, both in the 3rd inning.  RF Andy Dirks dropped a looper into short right field, just out of reach of the leaping Tribe SS Chase d'Arnaud, then 2B Scott Sizemore put a sinking liner into right field, off the glove of RF Gorkys Hernandez.  Wilson left both on base with a fly out and a ground out.  Wilson also worked around two singles and a batter reaching on a fielding error by SS Pedro Ciriaco in the 2nd inning.  That was a wind-blown ball into short right field, with Ciriaco, 3B Josh Harrison, and LF Alex Presley all chasing after it.  Ciriaco tried to make a last-second twisting over-the-shoulder catch and missed.  Wilson threw 97 pitches with 62 strikes in his 6 innings.

The gusty wind helped the Indians as well as hurt them.  In the top of the 2nd, DH Andy Marte lifted the first pitch he saw into the wind, which took it over the left field wall for a solo home run.  Marte nearly had another home run in the 5th inning, but that time his fly to left field was just short, and was caught at the wall.  

The Tribe had only one hit over the next three innings -- a double by Harrison in the 5th, when the wind did the same thing to the Mud Hens that it had done to Ciriaco and the Indians in the 3rd.  Harrison's high pop got caught in the wind, and with the infielders running out and the outfielders running in, the ball fell in just out of reach of SS Cale Iorg.  In both instances, the outfielders might have had a better chance at running in to make the catch, but instead they let their shortstops take over.  Harrison made a quick steal of third base, but he was left stranded when Hernandez struck out.  

Indianapolis Indians  10,  Louisville Bats  4
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During batting practice today, Indians' SS Pedro Ciriaco (photo)  declared that "tonight is the night".  Then he made good on it, leading the Indians in their win over the Bats at Slugger Field in Louisville, Kentucky.

Ciriaco came into the game with a .059 batting average, with just 2 hits in his first 11 games of the season.  Tonight, he posted the first Indians' run of the game with a single in the 3rd inning.  He singled again in the 6th innings, and nearly picked up an RBI, though 1B Matt Hague was out at the plate.  Then Ciriaco capped the Indians' big 8th inning with a 3-run home run, giving the Tribe a defiinive lead that would carry them to the win.

After yesterday's 13-inning marathon, tonight's game began in much the same way:  two perfect innings by both starters, Sean Gallagher for the Indians and Scott Carroll for the Bats.  Ciriaco was the first base runner of the game when he singled up the middle in the 3rd.   He stole second base, but was left stranded.  Gallagher walked RF Brian Barton and hit C Corky Miller with a pitch to begin the bottom of the 3rd, but when Barton strayed too far off second base, the alert Tribe C Jason Jaramillo picked him off.  Gallagher got out of the inning with a strikeout and a fly out.  

(Photo:  Starter Sean Gallagher)

The Indians got the scoring started in the top of the 4th.  2B Chase d'Arnaud led off the inning with a line drive single into center field.  A ground out by LF Alex Presley moved d'Arnaud to second, and a balk by Carroll pushed d'Arnaud to third.  D'Arnaud scored the first run of the game when Bats' SS Zack Cozart bobbled RF Andrew Lambo's grounder.  Lambo reached second base on a passed ball.  3B Andy Marte nearly had an RBI double with a sharply hit ball down the left field line, but it was ruled a foul ball, and Marte went back to try again.  He worked a walk, to put two Indians' runners on base.  Jaramillo drove both of them in with a line drive that just barely got past Bats' CF Dave Sappelt, and the Indians had a 3-0 lead.

Louisville got one of the runs back in the bottom of the inning.  Cozart reached base on an error, when his grounder skipped off the glove of Marte at third.  LF Yonder Alonso walked, and a fly ball gave the Bats runners on the corners.  A wild pitch let Cozart come in to score.  Alonso stole second base then moved to third when 3B Chris Valaika reached base on Ciriaco's fielding error.  Gallagher stopped the rally with two strikeouts, and held the score at 3-1.  The bottom of the 5th began with a single by Miller, which hopped past the diving Ciriaco.  Moments later, Sappelt  brought in Miller with his 2-run homer, to tie the score at 3-3.  

Brian Burress pitched 7 shutout innings and struck out 8 in today's start.












Louisville Bats  6,  Indianapolis Indians  4
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A two-run home run by Bats' RF Brian Barton in the bottom of the 13th gave the Bats the win over the Indians, on a long sunny afternoon in Louisville today.  Tony Watson had come on in relief to begin the 13th, and after two quick outs, he was one out away from ending the game, when he gave up a single to 2B Kris Negron.  That was followed by the long blast over the left-center field wall.  

Brian Burres made the start for the Indians, facing off against the Cincinnati Reds' Homer Bailey, who was making a rehab start.  It was a pitching duel, and though Burres looked better than Bailey, neither one of them allowed a run.  Burres gave up two singles to open the bottom of the 1st, then struck out the next three batters to get out of the inning.  He gave up a single in the 2nd, but struck out two of the other three batters he faced.  Then Burres struck out the Bats in order for the next 4 innings -- 14 consecutive batters retired.  With one out in the 7th, Burres gave up the Bats' 4th hit, then set down two more to finish his afternoon's work.  Burres struck out 8 batters and did not walk any.  He threw 81 pitches, with 56 strikes.

Homer Bailey (photo) allowed only 2 hits in his 5 innings, with 2 strikeouts.  He buzzed through the first inning, then with one out in the 2nd, Bailey gave up a double into left field to RF Andrew Lambo.  3B Josh Harrison grounded to third, but a throwing error put him safely on first.  C Dusty Brown's fly out let both runners advance.  2B Brian Friday worked a full count, then took a walk, but with the bases loaded, Burres bounced to third, where  3B Todd Frazier took just a couple steps to force out Harrison and end the threat.  

Indianapolis Indians  7,  Louisville Bats  1
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It might have been the black jerseys, or the fact that Rudy Owens was making the start, or even that they just needed a change of scenery  -- but whatever it was, it worked for the Tribe.  They beat the Louisville Bats, for just their second win of the season, at Louisville Slugger Park in Louisville, Kentucky.  The Indians' only other win came back on Monday -- also with Rudy Owens (photo) pitching, and also the only game before today in which they wore their black alternate jersey tops.   

Owens faced off against Johnny Cueto, who is with the Bats on a rehab assignment from the Cincinnati Reds.  Cueto, who was tagged for the loss, lasted into the 4th inning, and gave up the first two Indians' runs on 2 hits and 2 walks.  He also struck out 4 Tribe batters.


The Tribe made Cueto work in each inning he pitched, with at least one runner on base in every inning.  LF Alex Presley singled up the middle in the 1st, and 3B Josh Harrison walked and stole second base in the 2nd.   The Indians put runners on the corners in the 3rd inning.  With two outs, CF Gorkys Hernandez reached base when he grounded to short and Bats' SS Zack Cozart's throw to first base pulled 1B Danny Dorn off the bag (Hernandez was credited with an infield single).  Hernandez promptly stole second base, and when he did, Bats' C Devin Mesoraco's off-target throw skittered into right field.  Hernandez advanced to third base when Cueto threw a wild pitch on strike three to SS Pedro Ciriaco, giving the Indians runners on the corners.  Cueto bore down and struck out Presley to end the inning, but the Tribe had not made it easy.

The Tribe struck again in the 4th inning.  With one out, RF Andrew Lambo bounced a double off the concrete part of the center field wall for a double.  Harrison grounded to short, where Cozart made his second throwing error of the game, again giving the Indians runners on the corners.  Harrison stole second base, and Cueto walked C Wyatt Toregas to load the bases.  That was the end of Cueto's afternoon.  He was relieved by Jeremy Horst.  2B Brian Friday (photo) greeted Horst with a single through the hole into left field, which drove in Lambo and Harrison.  Horst struck out the next two batters to end the inning, but the Indians had the early lead for the first time all season.  Both runs were charged to Cueto, though Lambo's run was earned and Harrison's was not.  

At the same time, Rudy Owens was busy mowing down the Louisville batters.  He did not allow a hit until the 6th inning, and then when LF Yonder Alonso did line a single into center field, Owens erased him with a double play.  Owens had to deal with some base runners in the early innings --  a walk and a hit batter in the 2nd, another hit batter in the 4th, a walk and a 2-error play in the 5th.  In that play, with 2B Chris Valaika on first base (walk), Horst grounded to third base, where Harrison scooped up the ball.  Harrison's throw to second base was high, so Valaika was safe at second when Brian had to leap to make the catch.  Friday made an off-balance relay throw on to first base, and the ball sailed into the dugout, which let Horst advance to second base.  But Owens maintained his composure, and he calmly got a pop out and a ground out to end the inning and leave both runners standing in scoring position.  

Manager Dean Treanor stands with Dusty Brown, one of only two Indians' runners to reach as far as third base.  






Louisville Bats  3,  Indianapolis Indians  0
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Louisville starter and former major league pitcher Dontrelle Willis (photo) held the Indians to 6 scoreless innings, and his relievers did the same for the remaining 3 innings, as the Indians lost to the Bats at Victory Field tonight.  

Willis allowed 5 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 6 batters in his 6 innings of work.  The Indians had only two base runners reach as far as third base.  In the 2nd inning, C Dusty Brown worked a walk with two outs.  He advanced to third base on RF Gorkys Hernandez's line drive single down the right field line.  Brown got no further, as Willis struck out both 2B Brian Friday and starting pitcher Brad Lincoln to end the inning.  

Willis gave up back-to-back singles in the 4th inning, but the Indians could not capitalize on that either.  1B Matt Hague slapped a grounder that took a goofy hop on the mound.  Willis stabbed at the ball, but he stumbled, then took a tumble (but came up laughing), and Hague was safe at first.  Moments later, Bats' catcher Corky Miller picked Hague off first base, and threw him out trying to reach second base.  3B Josh Harrison also lined a single into right field, then stole both second and third bases.  Two strikeouts left him standing there too.

Andrew Lambo and Corey Wimberly just "hanging out" in the dugout











Louisville Bats  5,  Indianapolis Indians  2
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Three home runs by the Bats, including two in one inning, put the Bats on top of the Indians tonight at Victory Field.  Starter Justin Wilson (photo) gave up the three homers, accounting for 4 of Louisville's runs, and he was charged with his first loss of the season.

Chris Reineke made the start for Louisville, and he and Wilson seemed intent on matching one another for the first 5 innings of the game.  Both Reineke and Wilson retired the side in the 1st inning.  Both gave up a walk (to C Devin Mesoraco and 3B Josh Harrison) and a hit (single to 2B Chris Valaika and double to 1B Andy Marte) in the 2nd inning.  Both retired the side in order in the 3rd and 4th innings.  

Both Reineke and Wilson gave up one run in the 5th inning.  Wilson retired the first two Bats' batters of the inning, giving him a streak of 10 batters retired in order.  Then CF Kris Negron lifted a home run over  the left-center field wall, to give the Bats a 1-0 lead.  In the bottom of the inning, Reineke gave up a lead-off single when Harrison beat out a surprise bunt.  2B Pedro Ciriaco grounded deep to short, forcing Harrison out at second, but SS Zack Cozart was not able to make a throw to first, and Ciriaco was on with a fielder's choice.  After a fly out, Justin Wilson came to the plate.  Instead of being an easy out, Wilson worked a full count, then fouled off three more pitches.  Then he blasted a ball off the left field scoreboard for an RBI double.  Ciriaco scored from first, and the score was tied at 1-1.